To me, one of the primary jobs of a leader is creating an inclusive work environment – It is vital to the success of any operation.

The number one question I would ask all executives is, “How good are you at fostering inclusiveness?” If you’re wondering what I mean, think back to a time when you felt like you were not included, when you felt like an outcast. How did that affect your actions? I remember a time in sixth grade when nobody included me; that made me feel like I couldn’t do the activity, so I didn’t.

You can’t have great leadership and take your vision to the top of the mountain unless your environment is all-inclusive because it takes a lot of people to climb that mountain. If you’re not making it clear that your environment includes everyone, at all levels, people won’t commit as much time and effort or be as creative as they can be.

Recently, we were pitching story ideas in our animation division. You could sense that some people felt no inhibition at all and weren’t overly concerned about what others thought of their ideas. Their enthusiasm and confidence let their creativity shine through. Others were not very comfortable in sharing their ideas, which dimmed their enthusiasm and their creative vision.

It’s a challenge when everyone doesn’t feel bonded enough to the group to open up. A good leader needs to know everyone in the organization and have an open and honest relationship with each one, so they feel comfortable in sharing their thoughts. Then, when a tough issue comes along it can be addressed in full, with a lot of smart minds focusing on it together.

A good leader also needs to be completely trustworthy and open with information. If not, you end up with a breach in trust, which leads to a non-inclusive environment and a high turn-over rate. How are you supposed to create something great if every time you turn around, another member of your crew has jumped ship to go somewhere else? The moral is – people are tough; they’ll grit it out with you through tough times if you include them and everyone gets to the goal together.

But how do you get people to bond and know you’re there for one another? You do it through creating and enforcing an inclusive environment. You need to bring the barriers down. Once your barriers are down, you expose yourself to potential criticism; you expose yourself to potential laughter. Guess what – that’s where all the gold is.

When people are uninhibited because they feel accepted, that’s when the fun really begins. It can start with just one person opening himself up to possible criticism or laughter. People might say, “Oh, my gosh – look at him go!” But the next thing you know, others are joining in, and then some more, until everyone is feeling included, confident and creative.

That’s when the storyboards and the product designs fly. It’s pure magic.